May 12, 2002

AT a time when scholars are focusing on the role of religion in world affairs, Francis Robinson’s abiding interest in the study of Islam should attract much attention. After his three major works on the subject, the book under review Islam and Muslim history in South Asia, has a different purpose. It constructs new paradigms for the exploration of the dynamics of Muslim politics, culture, society and religion in South Asia. The depth of Robinson’s scholarship can be judged from the diversity of subjects he has touched upon in this book.

Addressing the much trumpeted clash between the Muslim and the Christian civilizations since mediaeval ages, Robinson adopts the position that Christianity and Islam have been the shapers of each other’s destinies and have left an indelible mark on the other’s history. In his well-researched paper “The Muslims and the Christian worlds; shapers of each others” emphatically identifies the common bonds which have tied the two civilizations together and influenced their outlooks.

For quite some time after the eighth century Islam dominated the world scene. Christianity gained leverage in global politics thereafter. But in this period there was much interaction between them. According to Robinson, the West’s pervasive influence today has pushed the Muslims against the wall. The 20 million adherents of Islam in Europe, however, promise new avenues of interaction between the two religions which could lead to a modern, reformist version of Islam.

In the South Asian context, religion has emerged as a powerful force in Muslim history. Robinson seeks to formulate a systematic framework to define and discuss the role of Islam in its different manifestations in the lives of the people. With his anthropological insight and astute scholarship of Islamic culture and history, Robinson examines the beliefs of the Indian Muslims and observes the deep impact of indigenous cultural practices on the religious outlook of the Muslims.

One of the most important of change was the print media which had a profound impact on the religious outlook of Muslims. The introduction of printing presses affected the entire knowledge system of Islam as it had done in the Christian world. Ironically, Muslim rulers resisted the use of the press as they were fearful of its unforeseen repercussions. The intrusion of the print culture in the nineteenth century challenged the stranglehold of some vested interests, especially the ulema, who until then had posed as the sole interpreters of religion. It put an end to the 1200-year long oral tradition of learning. But the ulema were quick to discover once the printing technology had been introduced that they could use it to counter the proselytizing activities of Christian missionaries in India by publishing religious material in bulk for the masses.

Another area in which the impact was felt was in the change in Muslim perception of religion. The nineteenth century experienced a grand shift from the ‘other-worldly’ Islam to ‘this-worldly’ Islam. This movement of revival or reform brought about by the introduction of printing resulted in a conflict between the traditional ulema resisting every attempt at colonization and modernization of Muslim society and the modernist led by Sir Syed who strove to create new values based on Western sources of knowledge.

Robinson notes that secularization in the Western mode arose from scientific developments, as was theorized by Peter Berger and Max Weber. Such changes took place in Islam in the nineteenth century. It was under the British colonial rule in India that religion came to be divorced from law, learning and political power. This structural secularization was an offshoot of direct colonial rule. On the subjective level, the private lives of South Asian Muslims steadily received a new consciousness which made religion ‘this-worldly’. It was also the translation of the holy scriptures into the vernacular languages which made them accessible to the masses and created a structural dualism (bifurcation of religion from the state institutions and relegating it to a personal level). This resulted in disenchantment and fragmentation.

On the political level, the fall of the Mughal empire and the subsequent induction of British imperialism strongly affected India as a whole. But the Muslims were the most brutally affected and victimized. The chaos and social disruption following the war of 1857 further acted as a catalyst in aggravating the plight of Muslims. As the events unfolded, each repressive drive of the colonial regime spelt a new challenge to the Muslims - on whom the sad realization dawned that they had ceased to exist as a privileged and elitist community of South Asia.

The seeds of separatism were fortuitously sown at a time when the Muslims were beginning to come to terms with their political status. Robinson’s prime interest rests in exploring this complex but immensely significant phenomenon of nation-building and the formation of identity consciousness as the most significant phase of Muslim and Indian history alike.

Unlike the traditionally emphasized factors of language, religion and economic interests in building a nation, he ventures into the inner recesses of the historical process and critically evaluates the significant catalysts in the development of Muslim identity. For him Paul Brass’ thesis contains important dimensions, which he ventures to refute.

According to Paul Brass the formation of national identity involves group consciousness arising out of objective differences, monitored and even nurtured by an elite. For this purpose special myths are ‘created’ and symbols ‘manufactured’. This was done by the Muslims of UP. According to the Brass thesis in the process of nation formation a special sense of history was ‘created’ and Muslims ‘preferred’ the symbols of disunity rather than unity, a particular myth of backwardness was ‘emphasized’ and Muslim elite ‘chose’ symbols of Muslim identity which were totally in contradiction with the individual lives of their Hindu counterparts.

Robinson clearly rejects this thesis. He argues that the special sense of history was in fact focused against British domination than the Hindus. Moreover, Muslim ‘preference’ for the Islamic historical symbols of disunity was instinctive rather than a matter of deliberate choice or conscious effort. The myth of backwardness was more realistic than illusionary. He sharply refuses Brass’ hypothesis that the attendance of Muslims in educational institutes of UP was far greater than any other community. The backwardness, according to Robinson, has much to do with getting jobs.

Deprived of their traditional roles in UP society, Muslims were not unreasonable in lamenting their backwardness vis-a-vis the Hindus. Lastly, the elite’s selection of symbols in isolation does not sound rational to Robinson. He questions the superficiality of Brass’ assumption that the elite’s upholding of symbols was absolutely at par with their values and immediate circumstances or vested interests rather than that of their community as a whole. On the contrary, the Muslim elite was not at all insensitive to its community. Still Brass’ model is of great value to him though he suggests remodification of the thesis.

This is a significant attempt at a ‘bi-partisan’ interpretation of Muslim history in South Asia, which adopts a multi-pronged approach addressing the affairs of religion, politics, language, culture and society, without any preconceived notions.

 

Islam and Muslim history in South Asia

By Francis Robinson

Oxford University Press, YMCA Library Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi 110 001

ISBN 019-564967-2

310pp. Indian Rs595

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)